


Some Things Never Change

by Gothic_Lolita



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Fluff, Hurt Tony, I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Summaries, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Tony Feels, teen tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:06:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12611312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothic_Lolita/pseuds/Gothic_Lolita
Summary: When Tony Stark is de-aged by a spell, the Avengers expect a snarky little shit of a teenager. Instead, they get one with haunted eyes and a pained heart.





	Some Things Never Change

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really a fan of de-aging fics, or cutting fics, but this was still written. Why? I don't know. Don't ask me questions. Just read the angst you all came here for.

There was a general consensus within the Avengers. Loki was a pain in the ass.

His latest trick had been hitting Tony with a 'de-aging' spell. Tony Stark was now eighteen, with no memories past his biological age. No one was quite sure what to do with him, and Thor admitted he had no idea if it was permanent or not. SHIELD was left having to debrief a teenage Tony on everything he didn't remember.

It was decided that until this was fixed, or at least until they knew exactly what had happened to Tony, he was permanently benched. They set up shifts so someone was always in the Tower, watching Tony.

However, it was quickly learned that more often than not, Tony would escape whoever was watching him. Even Natasha had a problem keeping track of him. No one quite knew where he went or what he did when he disappeared, but he always came back in one piece, so everyone grew to accept it.

But the most disturbing part about all of this was Tony himself. Everyone had assumed that Tony would be just as loud and annoying, if not worse, as a teen. The Avengers agreed, Tony was probably a rambunctious, party going, living on the edge thrill seeker as a teenager before actually seeing him as one.

Tony was quiet. Deathly quiet. So much so, he made people like Bucky look loud and talkative. When Steve dragged him into the communal floors and demanded he spent time with the other Avengers, he sat in the corner, quietly watching them interact, usually with headphones in.

People had tried talking to him, thinking maybe he was just shy and confused from the new world around him, but he often shut them down, or just ignored them all together. The only person who could manage to have a full conversation with him was Rhodey.

  
"Look," Rhodey sighed, as the rest of the Avengers, minus Tony were all talking in the living room. "When Tony was eighteen... it was a rough time. Ana and Edwin Jarvis, the couple who really raised him, had just passed, he was finally old enough to inherit the company and was suddenly overwhelmed with responsibilities, I had just left for the military, he hadn't met Pepper yet. He was completely alone, and no idea what to do. He became shut off, hiding within himself. Didn't talk to much of anyone, didn't do anything he didn't have to. It was a dark time for him." Rhodey explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, what snapped him out of it?" Steve asked, tilting his head to the side.

Rhodey shook his head. "You don't just 'snap out' of depression, Rogers. It took years for him to start acting like the Tony Stark you all know. Even still, some things never did really go away." His expression was dark. "He just learned how to bury it."

 

* * *

 

Bucky watched Tony work on his arm, both of them silent. Even de-aged, Tony still had ended up being the one doing work on Bucky's arm.

Usually, these sessions were filled with Tony's jokes and ramblings. But now they were deathly silent, with Green Day faintly playing in the background. Tony didn't say a word, and neither did Bucky.

Bucky was determined not to push boundaries, or try to force Tony to socialize or do anything of that manner. He hated it when people did it to him, and just wanted Tony to understand that Bucky wasn't going to inflict that upon him. 

But still, watching Tony made Bucky's chest  _ **ache**_. No one that young should have such haunted eyes, such a placid, default expression. Bucky just wanted to hold Tony, let him know it was okay to let it all out.

When Tony finished and closed the panel in Bucky's arm, he went to put his tools away, and his sleeve crept up his sleeve. Bucky's stomach twisted at the sight of the angry red lines dug into his skin. They were so fresh, the blood was staining the inside of his sleeve.

Bucky grabbed Tony's wrist, pushing the sleeve up to see how far up they went. The cuts covered Tony's entire forearm. They weren't deep but were alarmingly numerous. Bucky looked up, staring Tony in the eye.

Tony didn't say a word, he didn't try to make up some excuse for his slit up wrist. Instead, he only stared right back, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Come on," Bucky said, pulling Tony to the bathroom. He figured it'd be pointless to berate Tony. Tony wasn't going to listen either way. 

Once he had dragged Tony into the bathroom, Bucky pulled out a first aid kit. He pushed Tony's sleeve out of the way, and first just ran it under some lukewarm water, washing away the excess blood. He covered it in some antibiotic ointment, making Tony's fingers faintly twitch in pain. Bucky wrapped the arm, finishing it with a piece of tape. 

Tony stared at Bucky, unblinking. His expression was hard to decipher, but it wasn't a glare, so Bucky took it as a win. Bucky offered him a quick smile and left the teenager in peace.

 

* * *

 

Surprisingly, after that encounter, Tony opened up just a bit more to Bucky. He sat next to Bucky (if Rhodey wasn't there) in Avengers group meetings or 'bonding sessions', and if he and if it was Bucky's shift to watch him, he didn't disappear. He had even begun playing small jokes, or other sorts of teasings on Bucky. If they were alone together, Tony would purposely put his feet on Bucky and give him a tiny smirk, just to fuck with him. Bucky pretended to be annoyed, but he was overjoyed to see Tony  _ **smile**_.

  
Bucky was sitting on the couch, reading a book, with Tony's feet in his lap as the genius sat at the other end, manipulating holograms. Bucky had no idea what Tony was doing or what any of the equations meant, but he still snuck a glance over when Tony didn't notice.

Bucky hadn't meant to rest his hand on Tony's ankle, so when he found himself absentmindedly rubbing the exposed skin between Tony's sock and pant leg, he was just as startled as Tony was.

"Is there a foot fetish I don't know about, James?" Tony asked, smirking a bit. Tony called Bucky 'James' just to annoy him, but Bucky grew to like it, as it meant Tony was actually talking to him, to begin with.

"Why would I have a fetish for your feet when you have other gorgeous parts worth paying attention to?" Bucky muttered, not entirely meaning to say it out loud. 

Tony's startled look was immediate. "Did you just call me gorgeous?" He asked slowly. Bucky shrugged. Bucky expected Tony to disappear, but instead, he only stared at Bucky for a moment, then wiggled around so he was resting his head in Bucky's lap, and went back to his holograms. Bucky decided not to comment and went back to his book. And when Tony fell asleep in Bucky's lap, Bucky's fingers may have found their way into Tony's soft hair.

 

* * *

 

Natasha was the first to comment on it.

"He likes you almost more than he likes Rhodes." She mused, everyone knowing exactly who she was talking about.

Bucky arched an eyebrow. "He works on my arm almost weekly. We have a lot of alone time." He shrugged.

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Mhm."

 

* * *

 

Bucky caught Tony in the act, this time. 

There were tear streaking his face, a razor shakily clenched between his fingertips. He was standing in the workshop, that for some curious reason, would only let Bucky in.

Bucky walked up behind Tony, catching both of his shaking wrists. He gently stole the blade from Tony's fingers, tossing the blood-stained metal into a trash can. Bucky picked Tony up, carrying him to the bathroom.

The cuts were deeper this time, and it disturbed Bucky to wonder what would've happened if he hadn't found Tony. There was just too much blood.

Tony's soft sobs faded as his wrist was bandaged. When Bucky finished, he went to leave, when Tony grabbed onto him.

"Don't you fucking dare leave me." Tony rasped, burying his face into the crook of Bucky's neck.

"Alright, I won't. I won't." Bucky promised. He picked Tony up again, taking him back to the couch in the alcove of the workshop.

He let Tony lay on top of him, humming a soft Russian lullaby. Eventually, it fell silent, and Bucky was just rubbing Tony's back, in soothing motions.

"I wanted to kill myself," Tony admitted, his voice small.

Bucky's chest clenched. "Why, sweetheart?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. I just..." He let out a shuddering sigh. "I guess I never killed myself before because I had something to stay alive for. A legacy to live up to. But now," He paused. "But now, looks like I've fulfilled it. I saved the world a few times, gave SI to someone who can handle it. What else am I supposed to do? I'm a teenager surrounded by people who think they know me, just because they know a version of me I don't even know. Even Rhodey doesn't look at me the same. Whatever Tony Stark they want, isn't the one they have. And it seems since he did what he was supposed to, why bother living anymore?"

"Tony, doll, look at me," Bucky said, cupping Tony's jaw. "I don't care who you were, or who you're going to be, or any of that. I care about you, so does Rhodes. No one knows what to do about you, we're all trying to get our footing. But I promise if nothing else, I care about you. Stay alive for me, sweetheart, alright?" Bucky asked.

"Alright." Tony finally said, after a moment of hesitation. Bucky breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Tony's forehead. "You missed my lips, James." Tony joked, a soft smile playing across his lips.

Bucky was startled by the statement. Tony's eyes flashed with fear, as though he were afraid Bucky was going to be disgusted. Bucky decided to fix that the best way he could think of. He kissed Tony.

It was hard and sloppy, and when Bucky pulled away, Tony was staring at him with wide eyes. "Well, that definitely wasn't a miss." He muttered. Bucky smiled.

 

* * *

 

A week later, a man named Stephen Strange visited the Tower, and suddenly Tony was an adult again, and acting like none of it had happened, despite admitting he remembered all of it. Nothing seemed all too different, the Avengers accepted that Tony wouldn't talk about it, and they fell back into the natural flow of things.  Bucky had assumed Tony was going to ignore the kiss and ignored it as well.

When Bucky came into the shop for work on his arm, he was determined to keep it as professional as humanly possible. Tony made it clear he had other plans when he marched right over to Bucky and kissed him roughly.

"I thought you wouldn't want to... do whatever this is." Bucky strangled out when Tony pulled away.

Tony chuckled softly. "Some things never change, James."

**Author's Note:**

> This is my headcanon for Teen!Tony. Fight. Me.


End file.
